Meta

blood sugar

Are you dealing with pain, obesity, ADD/ADHD, peripheral neuropathy, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, migraines, thyroid issues, dental issues, or cancer? If so, then you are dealing with inflammation in the body. Inflammation affects every aspect of the body and is the leading cause of many diseases.

Now, inflammation alone isn’t a bad thing. It serves a purpose when you sprain your ankle or get a cut on the skin. It is the bodies natural way of defending itself. So, what are we doing that is causing it to always be in defense mode? Well, the majority of inflammatory diseases start in the gut with an autoimmune reaction which progresses into systemic inflammation. The gut is made up of an incredibly large and intricate semi-permeable lining. Every time we eat something we are bringing the outside world of toxins, viruses, yeast, and bacteria into the body. If our gut lining is damaged (this is known as Leaky Gut Syndrome ) these particles pass through that lining and end up in the blood stream. Because these particles do not belong in the blood stream your body views them as foreign invaders and starts to attack them. Your body then responds with inflammation, allergic reactions, and other symptoms that are related to a variety of diseases.

This will then cause your immune system to become overburdened, and these inflammatory triggers are cycled continuously through your blood where they affect nerves, organs, connective tissues, joints, and muscles. You can probably begin to see how diseases develop.

To truly be effective at managing or hopefully overcome a disease it needs to be addressed on all levels. Taking a look at where this process starts is the key. However, most doctors are utilizing pharmaceuticals in lieu of getting to the root cause.

Since inflammation is commonly mediated by the gut it is a logical starting point in the evaluation process of any patient. There are seven common areas that should be considered when looking at causes of leaky gut which create the environment for chronic inflammation. They are listed below along with key triggers within the category of evaluation:

Diet: Alcohol, Gluten, Casein, Processed Foods, Sugar, Fast Food

Medications: Corticosteroids, Antibiotics, Antacids, Xenobiotics

Infections: Such as Yeast or Bacterial Overgrowth (Candidiasis) or Viral or Parasite Infections

The truth of the situation here is that FOOD MATTERS. That’s right, it’s not just a movie (which by the way you should all watch!). Hyper-permeability of the gut, regardless of whether you can feel it or not, is often a significant cause of an extremely long and ever growing list of conditions. The inflammatory cascade that takes place by any inflammatory trigger (diet, medications, infections, stress, hormonal, neurological, or metabolic) can break down the intestinal permeability and allows for the leaky gut mechanism to initiate.

Inflammation is rampant. In fact the research says that 1 in 12 women and 1 in 24 men are dealing with full blown autoimmune mediated inflammation. The number of undiagnosed people is going to be much higher.

If you are dealing with inflammation then you should get a comprehensive evaluation to look at what is perpetuating your personal inflammation. Here are three things to start paying attention to:

Remember, a wide array of health problems, including but not limited to: chronic pain, obesity, ADD/ADHD, peripheral neuropathy, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, migraines, thyroid issues, dental issues, and cancer are all rooted in inflammation, which must be properly addressed if you wish to be healed.

Chinese Medicine considers winter squash such as kombucha, delicata, seminole pumpkin, and butternut to be some of the healthiest foods around. They have special properties to balance the blood sugar, and taste great! Here is one of my favorite recopies for squash soup. It is very easy, and you can use any variety of winter squash you like. My favorite is the Seminole Pumpkin because it is grown locally and organically by my friend Jim Hunter over at South Seminole Farm and Nursery. I hope that you enjoy!

Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-low heat until foaming; add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add squash scrapings and seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and butter turns saffron color, about 4 minutes. Add 6 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to Dutch oven and bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, place squash cut-side down in steamer basket, and lower basket into pot. Cover and steam until squash is completely tender, about 30 minutes. Off heat, use tongs to transfer squash to rimmed baking sheet; reserve steaming liquid. When cool enough to handle, use large spoon to scrape flesh from skin into medium bowl; discard skin.

The journal Nature has recently published an article that shows that artificial sweeteners increase blood sugar, and may lead to type 2 diabetes as directly as eating sugar does. The use of artificial sweeteners has been a contentious topic for decades. The new research, from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, finds that differences in gut microbes may explain why some people can handle artificial sweeteners just fine while for others the sweeteners lead to blood sugar problems.

The human digestive system is home to millions of microbes, largely bacteria, that help digest food and play a major role in one’s health.

Eran Elinav, who studies the link between an individual’s immune system, gut microbes and health at the Weizmann Institute admitted that his research has soured him on sweetening the coffee he needs to get through his day. “I’ve consumed very large amounts of coffee and extensively used sweeteners, thinking that they were at least not harmful and perhaps even beneficial,” Elinav said at a telephone news conference Tuesday. “Given the surprising result we got in our study, I made a decision to stop using artificial sweeteners.”

Artificial sweeteners are not digested, so it was assumed that there would be no way for them to lead to diabetes. Microbes commonly found in the human gut, however, seem to be affected by these indigestible sugars. In a series of experiments in mice and people, the researchers examined the interaction between gut microbes and consumption of the sweeteners aspartame (found in NutraSweet and Equal), sucralose (found in Splenda) and saccharine (found in Sweet’n Low). Depending on the types of microbes they had in their intestines, some people and mice saw a two to fourfold increase in blood sugars after consuming the artificial sweeteners for just a short time. These increased levels of blood sugar can easily lead to diabetes over time.

Researchers began by testing the three widely used sweeteners in mice. Some mice got one of the artificial sweeteners in their water, and others got sugar water or just water. After 11 weeks, researchers gave all the mice a dose of sugar and monitored the response in their blood sugar levels.

“The magnitude of the differences were not just a few percentages. These were very dramatic differences,” said Eran Segal, a study co-author who is a computational biologist at the Weizmann Institute.

A diet study of 400 people found that those who consumed the most artificial sweeteners were more likely to have problems controlling blood sugar.

In another part of the study, researchers gave seven individuals a high dose of saccharin, 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, the Food and Drug Administration’s maximum daily intake, for 6 consecutive days. Four of these individuals also began showing signs of glucose intolerance. The researchers report suggested that artificial sweeteners “may have directly contributed to enhancing the exact [diabetes] epidemic that they themselves were intended to fight.”

So next time you want a diet drink reach for a water and add a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime.

Want to learn more about Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine, Health, or Natural Pain Relief in Orlando? Check out our website: OrlandoAcupuncture.com